Strange Karma....

[chefothefuture]

OK!
So I buy this 87 4001v63 with thick horns.
I had hoped for a thin neck.
The gods think otherwise and send me a bat..

Is this, "send the chef the humongo necks?"....
I mean, my 85 v63 was a club, my modern 4003 was a blunt(but very comfortable) instrument, and I just
stay away from post 97's where possible....

Great sounding bass otherwise....

Now I'll still need(I sress need...) a 92 to 95... Hmmmmmmm.....

Wonder what my belt sander is doing

This is a really cool bass. I'm just throwing my hands up.....

[markbass99]

I know what you're saying, I had two 4003's a couple of years ago, a 2002 and a 1997and both had fat necks. Then I got my first 73 and was totally spoiled by the thinness so the 4003's had to go. Then I tried the 4004 series and was pleasantly surprised by how flat the back of the necks were even though they were slightly wider(for extra string space). So now all I have is 4001's and 4004's.

[simer4001]

Is it Fireglo or Mapleglo? What are you thinking?

[ajish4]

OMG,

I'm sorry to hear this John, this is the first time I've heard of V's in this time period as having THICK NECKS!

MY '88 has a neck that is thinner than my 1971 4001!

I know what you mean by having "CLUB" like necks, I had 3 or 4 2005's that were like baseball bats! Yet, my 2006 4oo3 is very comfortable.

I thought we had this THICK NECK/THIN NECK thing pretty well narrowed down....looks like there will always be an exception to the rule...

[chefothefuture]

I think that when they were still hand carved, there was some
variances...

Brian-
I'm toying with sending it to one of our resident
craftsmen, and having the horns slimmed and the
neck slimmed.
I'll need to find out if the truss rods are sunk any deeper.
I also want it to be Fireglo so it would be an opportune time
to do the mods...

Or it might grow on me as is.....
I mean, it sounds great and plays great too.

[rickaddict]

I'm also very surprised to hear that your '87 has a thick neck. Could you measure it's girth? I'm curious!

I have two '87 4003S's and an '88 4003 that all have slightly smaller girth than my '73 4001.

[VRICKY63]

I have a 98 V63 . The neck feels narrow to me . It is a little wider then the two 77 4001 models I've owned but those were so thin they were too easy to push or pull out of pitch . I think the 98 V63 is extremely comfortable and very stable ....a truly solid made instrument .

[wints]

Sell 'em all, and head back to the 60's....

[leftybass]

Sell 'em all, and head back to the 60's....

Easy for you to say, pal..!

[chefothefuture]

Sell 'em all? HA!
I just bought this so I wouldn't have to play the
vintage ones out....
I guess even the 80s are becoming vintage....

[simer4001]

I guess even the 80s are becoming vintage....

How in the hell did that happen?

[ajish4]

I guess even the 80s are becoming vintage....

How in the hell did that happen?

LoL, we got older.

[VRICKY63]

Damn , young , whippersnappers !!!!!!!!!!!! Cough !

[simer4001]

You damned kids, get out of my yard!

[paologregorio]

I know the main thrust of this thread is about the Rick VRI bass necks, but there are comments about the newer 4003 basses.

This thread gives me a bit of pause about buying a 4003. I played bass for 2 1/2 years before switching to guitar, and my main bass for that period of time was a `79 JG 4001, which I, unfortunately, was talked into selling long ago. the neck was great on that bass. I was hoping to buy a JG 4003 sometime in the near future, as I've heard that the neck profile is nice and slim, just like the old 4001 necks, but this thread makes me think otherwise. I'm a bit confused. Do the lates 4003s have a slim neck like the really old basses do?